Patrick Kane is now the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history.
Kane passed Mike Modano Thursday night by recording his 1,375th point on an assist in the Detroit Red Wings’ game against the Washington Capitals. He got there a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374.
“When you think of USA Hockey, he’s one of the first players that comes to mind, if not the first player,” fellow American Jack Eichel said. “Such a great representation of USA Hockey and us Americans — something for a lot of the guys that came after him to strive to be, myself included.”
Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since getting taken with the first pick in the 2007 draft by Chicago. He helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15 as a co-headliner of one of the most successful runs since the league’s salary cap era began in ’05.
U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy recalled watching Kane on those long runs “do stuff that at the time people didn’t do.”
“His type of player just transcends now, when back then there wasn’t anybody that was really doing that,” U.S.-born defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “He changed the game of hockey. He’s an absolute legend. And it’s great that he’s an American.”
Earlier this month, Kane became the 50th player and fifth American to score 500 goals, following Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen. Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the U.S., had 741 goals and 1,391 points.
“He’s well on his way to being the best USA player of all time,” countryman Jack Hughes said.
Kane won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in ’07-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013 and the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP in 2015-16, when he also led the league in scoring.
“Such an iconic player, just played with such passion,” said Tage Thompson, who’s a first-time U.S. Olympian this year. “Very enthusiastic, loved scoring goals, loved making plays.”
Kane’s slick hands more than made up for him being on the smaller side at 5-foot-10 and under 180 pounds.
“He’s maybe got the best highlight reel of all time,” Hughes said. “Just as a kid, you watch all of his videos and everything, and you’re like, that’s the guy you want to be just because of how skilled he is.”
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